Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello, my name is Michael i'm a 29 year old male. I'm not diagnosed with any form of autism but over the last couple of years i have been wondering more and more if i am. I was wondering if there was anyone else who came to realise that they were suffering from a form of autism later in life and if they could help or tell me how they came to realise.
My whole life i have struggled with social interactions and have always kept to myself. When i was younger i struggled in school and was always in the lower classes suffering with dyslexia. I was ambidextrous up until high school, when i was forced to choose one hand to write with as my handwriting was so bad.
I have always excelled in the arts, being a musician and loving to draw. Later in life i acheived a first class degree in audio production and now i am studying a masters in sound design at a film school in the uk.
Lately i have been suffering from social anxiety and really struggling to interact and it has become more obvious as my course relies heavily on socialising with many other departments. I'm having regular panic attacks and find myself being unable communicate in groups.
I tend to keep to myself most of the time although i really want to interact with others more. I have alway known something was not right as i have struggled to keep relationships in the past and never had a long term relationship. I also struggle to keep in contact with friends and have lost many friends over the years due to this. I only have a handful of close friends that i have kept in contact with over the years.
I guess i have always known soemthing is wrong but i've always ignored it. It's only lately as it seems to be effecting my career that i feel i need to face whatever the issue is head on. The more i read about autism and the symptoms the more i feel i may be suffering from a form of it.
If anyone who is or has been in a similar situation later in life can share their experiences or help with what steps i should take next, i would be really greatful.
Thank You
Michael
Hi Michael86.
I'm also 29 and can very much understand your story. I'm just at the begining of the diognosis process though through my own research it obvious. I visited my Gp with and inbility to leave home and i had no idea what it was or what anxiety was, it was my Gp that suggested asd and i wasn't sure what anxiety was until i had read about other people that had it and thought that sounds famillier.
At the moment I was reffered by my Gp to the Access team a social worker visited me and I had and initial 1 hour consultation with a , then got psychologist and appointment with an occupational therepist and shes been asking me questions and taking notes, the last appointment she visited me at home because she said that was part of the process and after she feels she has enough evidence she has a meeting with a consultant psychologist , a consultant psychiatrist and a social worker to make a diognosis and come up with a plan and a way forward.
I don't know if this is how the process goes everywhere but seems to be the case here.
When the Occupational therepist vistited me on Thursday she told me the battery had gone in her watch an thats why she would be looking at it oftern, i never thought of this at the time but now i think of it if she hadn't of told me i would have assumed she was dissinterested of had no time. I'm sure your local Mental health trust will good, i was supprised myself and after innitial sight resistance due to anxiety hiding symtoms they seem profficient and the wright track.
If you struggle to comunicate how you feel of think verbally you may try keeping a diary of how you feel as further evidence, it was some members on this forum that suggested it to me, though i've had trouble concentrating and keeping it up. Hope you find some usfulness in this.
All the best Steven..